Best in Fest

In this episode of Best in Fest, host Leslie LaPage speaks with Amanda Hendon, owner and president of Entertainment 333, a full-service talent management company representing actors in film and television.

With decades of experience working with major agencies, casting offices, and production companies, Amanda shares an insider perspective on how actors build sustainable careers in Hollywood—and how the industry is evolving in the wake of strikes, streaming disruption, and emerging AI technology.

In this episode, we discuss:

• 🎭 What talent managers actually do for actors and how careers are built
• 🎬 How actors land representation and what managers look for in new talent
• 📼 The realities of the self-tape audition era
• 🌍 Why many actors are now working internationally in places like Ireland and Europe
• 📉 How the Hollywood slowdown and recent strikes have affected working actors
• 🤖 How AI tools—from headshots to production tech—are impacting the industry
• 🎥 Why Amanda is expanding from talent management into film producing
• 📚 The true-story film project she’s developing about James Dean and Liz Sheridan
• 💡 Practical advice for actors navigating today’s competitive entertainment industry

Amanda also shares candid insights about the difference between emerging and established talent, the realities of representation in Los Angeles, and why persistence and strong communication remain essential for actors trying to break through.

In this episode of Best in Fest, host Leslie LaPage speaks with Laura Sydell, an award-winning journalist, audio producer, and storyteller best known for her work covering digital culture and technology for NPR programs including Planet Money, This American Life, and more.

After two decades reporting from the front lines of Silicon Valley, Laura now brings that insider perspective to narrative storytelling and screenwriting, developing techno-thrillers and sci-fi projects inspired by the real forces shaping our digital world.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• 🎙️ How Laura transitioned from public radio journalism to screenwriting and TV development
• 💻 What it was like covering the rise of Silicon Valley and the early internet era
• 📀 How Napster and digital file sharing reshaped the entertainment industry
• 📺 The rise of streaming platforms like Netflix and the transformation of television storytelling
• 🤖 What artificial intelligence could mean for writers, filmmakers, and creatives
• 🎬 Why human storytelling still matters in the age of AI
• 📱 How new technology tools are empowering independent creators
• 🌍 Why international TV markets are growing while Hollywood faces disruption
• 🧠 How real-world tech trends inspire speculative fiction and techno-thrillers

Laura also discusses how years of reporting on big tech influence her current writing projects, including stories about data privacy, AI, and the growing power of Silicon Valley companies.

In this episode of Best in Fest, host Leslie LaPage speaks with Shawn Bailey, entrepreneur, social media strategist, and founder of the WanderPreneur Agency. Shawn specializes in helping creators, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs understand the TikTok ecosystem and turn their content into a growing digital brand.

As filmmakers increasingly rely on social media to build audiences before distribution, Shawn breaks down how platforms like TikTok can be used strategically to grow visibility, connect with collaborators, and even monetize content through live streaming and creator engagement.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• 📱 How filmmakers can use TikTok to build a personal brand and audience
• 🎥 Why movies are just another form of content in today’s creator economy
• 🚀 How the TikTok algorithm works and how to reach the “For You Page”
• 🎙️ Why going live daily can accelerate audience growth
• ⏱️ Optimal video length for small creators and how watch time affects the algorithm
• 🤝 How creators collaborate and cross-promote on TikTok
• 💰 How monetization works through TikTok live gifts and creator engagement
• 📊 Why analytics matter when choosing when and how often to post
• 🌍 How filmmakers can use social media to attract producers, casting directors, and collaborators

Shawn also shares practical strategies for creators who are nervous about showing up on camera, explaining why authenticity and consistency are the keys to building trust and growing an online community.

In this episode of Best in Fest, host Leslie LaPage sits down with Maegan La’Trese Fillmore — director, producer, activist, and founder of Hudson Fillmore — for a no-nonsense conversation about the real economics of independent filmmaking today.

Maegan shares her journey from overseeing productions at Comedy Central, VH1, MTV, the NFL, YouTube Originals, and Paramount to directing award-winning indie projects like Soul Tie, and why she ultimately chose to build outside the studio system.

In this episode, we break down:

• 🎥 Why California tax incentives fail independent filmmakers
• 💰 The $1M budget floor problem — and what indies can do instead
• 🌍 Shooting outside California vs. Europe and emerging U.S. markets
• 🧾 How film slates and funds actually leverage tax incentives
• 🤝 Why tech investors are replacing traditional indie financiers
• 📱 Vertical video explained — formats, budgets, and monetization reality
• 🎬 What Quibi got right (and wrong) about short-form storytelling
• 🧠 Union vs non-union strategy in a shrinking job market
• 🏆 Building culturally specific films that still travel globally
• 🔥 Why most indie films help careers — not investors

Maegan also discusses the future of vertical storytelling, the dopamine economics behind short-form content, why China is currently the only market making real money from vertical series, and how filmmakers can stay creative — and solvent — in a volatile industry.

In this episode of Best in Fest, host Leslie LaPage sits down with Sandhya Hermon — an award-winning screenwriter and former research psychologist — to explore how a second career in storytelling can emerge from lived experience, global identity, and persistence.

Sandhya shares her journey from earning a doctorate in psychology to pursuing an MFA in screenwriting at UT Austin, and how her scripts have gone on to place at top competitions including Austin Film Festival, PAGE Awards, BlueCat, Nichols Fellowship, and more.

In this episode, we explore:

• 🧠 Transitioning from psychology to screenwriting later in life
• ✍️ How life experience strengthens character and theme
• 🏆 Navigating screenwriting fellowships, contests, and labs
• 📚 The difference between fellowships, competitions, and coverage
• 🌍 Writing culturally specific stories with universal appeal
• 🎬 Why global and diaspora stories are gaining traction
• 🐕 Turning personal memory into an animated short
• 🧩 Developing a sustainable writing process and slate
• 🎥 Breaking into the industry without traditional connections
• 💡 Why community and mentorship matter for emerging writers

Sandhya also discusses her feature scripts set in India, her latest project Once Upon a Time in Bombay, the realities of today’s screenwriting market, and why streaming platforms have opened new doors for diverse voices and international stories.

In this episode of Best in Fest, host Leslie LaPage sits down with Arden Theresa Lewis — Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, playwright, and former educator — for a powerful conversation about creative reinvention, historical storytelling, and why it’s never too late to make meaningful work.

Arden shares the eight-year journey behind her Daytime Emmy Award–winning documentary Leveling Lincoln, a film that explores school integration in the North and the hidden history of systemic inequality. What began as a learning experience became her film school — proving that passion, persistence, and purpose can outperform traditional industry paths.

In this episode, we explore:

• 🏆 How Leveling Lincoln won a Daytime Emmy after an eight-year production
• 🎓 Transitioning from teaching to professional filmmaking later in life
• 📱 Why story matters more than gear — and how a phone can start a film career
• 🎥 Learning documentary filmmaking while making the documentary
• 🧠 Using history to humanize modern social issues
• 🌍 Her next documentary on WWII civilian prison camps in the Philippines
• 🎭 Blending documentary, theater, and narrative storytelling
• 🎬 Turning stage work into potential film and TV projects
• 💡 Advice for creatives afraid to start because they feel “too late”
• ❤️ Why creativity is rooted in reconnecting with the inner child

Arden also discusses her current stage production Cassatt at Theater West in Hollywood, her upcoming documentary currently filming overseas, and how hybrid creators can build sustainable creative lives across multiple mediums.

In this episode of Best in Fest, host Leslie LaPage sits down with Linda Arroz — lifestyle writer, speaker, advisor, former plus-size spokesmodel, and media strategist — for a wide-ranging conversation on reinvention, branding, and storytelling in today’s entertainment landscape.

Linda shares her unconventional journey from working at General Motors to becoming a nationally recognized fashion and media authority, styling hundreds of TV shows and commercials, appearing on major networks, publishing books, and now developing podcasts and documentaries at the intersection of media, technology, and culture.

In this episode, we explore:

• 🎥 How to break into media and entertainment without a traditional path
• 🧠 Why storytelling and communication skills matter more than credentials
• 👗 Branding yourself like an influencer — lessons filmmakers can apply
• 📣 Why filmmakers must market themselves, not just their films
• 📚 Turning expertise into books, speaking, and multi-platform projects
• 🎙️ Developing podcasts as IP for future documentaries and films
• 🤖 Technology, blockchain, and AI as tools for modern creators
• 🎬 Building visibility through Q&As, public appearances, and media
• 🌱 The power of mentorship, adaptability, and lifelong reinvention

Linda also discusses her current work developing narrative-driven podcasts, including true crime and documentary projects, and why creators must evolve their skill sets to stay relevant in an ever-changing industry.

This episode is essential listening for filmmakers, creatives, entrepreneurs, and women in media looking to build sustainable careers by combining storytelling, branding, and strategic visibility.

In this episode of Best in Fest, host Leslie LaPage sits down with Debra Gilels — a veteran film PR strategist, producer’s rep, and distribution consultant who has helped launch award-winning documentaries and indie features into global release.

With over 20 years of experience guiding films from festivals to streaming platforms, Debra breaks down how distribution really works today, why most filmmakers misunderstand the process, and what creators must do before seeking a distribution deal.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• 🎯 How to use the film festival circuit to build an audience before distribution
• 📣 Why PR and marketing must start long before your release date
• 🧩 How documentaries secure advocacy groups and partner communities
• 💼 What distributors actually look for when acquiring indie films
• 💰 Minimum guarantees, contract terms, and revenue splits explained
• 📊 Why social media presence affects your distribution leverage
• 🚀 How to drive visibility on VOD and streaming platforms
• 🏆 Real-world case studies of documentaries and indie features that succeeded
• 🔍 The difference between self-distribution and professional sales agents

Debra explains why simply uploading a film to Amazon Prime is not a distribution strategy — and how smart filmmakers combine festival exposure, PR outreach, audience-building, and sales representation to maximize both impact and revenue.

If you're a filmmaker, producer, documentary creator, or festival director trying to understand how films get picked up, marketed, and monetized in today’s crowded content landscape — this episode is essential listening.

In this episode of Best in Fest, host Leslie LaPage sits down with Emilio Hughes Martinez — award-winning filmmaker, writer, and former Vice President of Development at Eclectic Pictures (Olympus Has Fallen, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Lovelace).

Emilio shares his journey from studio development executive to independent filmmaker, revealing what production companies really look for in scripts, how to finance films without studio backing, and why the next wave of cinema belongs to bold indie creators.

In this episode, we explore:

• 🎥 What studio development executives actually look for in scripts
• 📝 Common mistakes new screenwriters make when pitching producers
• 🏆 How his award-winning shorts (The Method and The Fourth Branch) were created on micro-budgets
• 💰 Financing indie films through friends, family, and creative resourcefulness
• 🎬 Guerrilla filmmaking tactics to bypass costly permits
• 🌎 Why more productions are leaving California — and what comes next
• 🤖 AI’s impact on screenwriting and why human storytelling still matters
• 🔥 The shift from $200M studio films to smaller, high-impact indie projects
• 🚀 His upcoming feature about fame, exploitation, and AI-generated performance

Emilio also breaks down his writing process, working with Oscar-winning co-writer Nick Vallelonga (Green Book), and why instinct-driven storytelling often beats rigid outlining.

In this episode of Best in Fest, host Leslie LaPage welcomes Rabbi Noam Raucher — educator, divorce coach, and Executive Director of FJMC International (Friendship, Judaism, Mentorship & Community) — to explore an unexpected but urgent topic: how media, masculinity, and meaning intersect in today’s culture.

Noam shares his personal journey through divorce, career loss, and men’s support groups — experiences that inspired him to launch Mama’s Boy, a bold new podcast co-hosted with comedy writer Rob Kutner. Together, they’re creating content that challenges toxic masculinity, offers healthier models of brotherhood, and brings Jewish wisdom into modern conversations about manhood.

In this episode, we explore:

• 🎧 Why a rabbi entered entertainment and podcasting
• 🧠 The rise of toxic masculinity in digital media
• 🤝 Men’s support groups and the power of authentic brotherhood
• 📺 Podcasting as the new modern pulpit
• 🎭 How humor and storytelling open men to vulnerability
• 🕍 Jewish tradition as a framework for healthy masculinity
• 🎥 Why film and entertainment shape cultural identity
• 🔥 Countering the manosphere with meaningful media
• 🚀 Building a global movement for men’s emotional growth

Noam explains how today’s media landscape floods young men with damaging messages about dominance, success, and power — and why it’s critical to offer alternative narratives rooted in compassion, accountability, and connection.